Sleep Duration and Risk of High Blood Pressure in Thai Adolescents: The Thai National Health Examination Survey V, 2014 (NHES-V)

Abstract Background: Sleep duration has been proposed to be associated with high blood pressure. However, nationwide studies regarding the association between sleep duration and high blood pressure in adolescents are limited. This study aimed to explore the national prevalence of high blood pressure among Thai adolescents and to determine whether sleep duration is associated with high blood pressure.Methods: Data of adolescents aged 10-19 years from the Thai National Health and Examination Survey V were included. Demographic data including age, gender, height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting blood chemistries and data on the sleep duration were collected. High blood pressure was defined based on the cut-off values from the guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Risk factors for high blood pressure were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression.Results: A total of 3539 (1803 female) adolescents were included. The prevalence of high blood pressure was 9.4% (95%CI 8.5, 10.4%). The high blood pressure group had higher BMI z-score, triglyceride, LDL-C and a lower HDL-C than those in the normotensive group. In multivariate analysis, BMI z-score was associated with high blood pressure. Interestingly, after adjusting for BMI z-score and lipid profile, an average sleep duration below 6 hours/day was associated with a 2-fold higher risk of high blood pressure compared to that of the group with an average sleep duration of more than 8 hours/day.Conclusions: High blood pressure risk was increased in participants who had an average sleep duration below 6 hours/day. This study highlights the need for promoting an adequate sleep duration in Thai adolescents to alleviate the risk of high blood pressure.